Drive to Hobart and Wooden Boat Show

13th Feb 2023 

By 10 am were were on the road to Hobart, only around 180 km away but expected to take around 2.5 hrs, probably longer with a lunch stop.

Back on the highway after traversing back around Coles Bay, we passed Devils Corner Winery. It was a bit early for a drink, but we pulled over to have a look.


Whilst it was a bit early for us they had quite a few tasters arriving



The drive takes us through Swansea, where not much appears to have changed and on to Triabunna, where the ferry to Maria Island leaves from. Triabunna is quite a scenic coastal town, and by the time we arrive it is time to stretch our legs, have a cup of coffee and a bit of a walk around the waterfront.

It is very busy, as there are loads of people waiting to catch the ferry to Maria Island. 


Triabunna has a large fishing fleet





Maria Island Ferry arriving at Triabunna terminal


After a quick look around for lunch options, a small cafe, near the waterfront was an obvious choice, as they claimed to have lobster rolls. Now suffering withdrawal  symptoms from our visit to Eastern Canada, it was a no brainer.



Thank goodness we didn't want chips, as it seems the abundance of chips at Coles Bay was an aberration and we are now back in the land of chip rationing (see sign below).


Laden with our lobster rolls, it was a bit early for lunch. so we decided to eat up a few more kms until we spotted a nice place to stop and enjoy our lunch.

As it turned out, we didn't drive all of that far until we came to Orford and saw a pretty spot on the riverside that fitted the bill. Also, anywhere past here was taking us back inland.




By the river at Orford was not a bad place to enjoy a pretty acceptable lobster roll.

Onwards to Hobart, we arrived at around check in time for our accommodation for the next 3 days, the RACV Hotel Hobart. The entrance was pretty low key, with a small street frontage on Collins Street and no obvious parking area for arriving guests. Once inside it was functional and check in was easy. The carpark entrance was in a side street and it is not a very big carpark, but we get a space and  go to our room. The room is very spacious, so we unpack and then go for a walk down to Salamanca /Constitution Dock area, as the famed Wooden Boat Show is in its last day of operation.

The show is huge, mush bigger than I expected, and basically takes up all of the waterfront. The first thing that strikes you is the number of tall ships that are here.


            The black hull is the James Craig, and at the end of the wharf is the New Endeavour


In the earlier days of the show many of the ships were under sail in the harbour as part of the celebrations. It would have been a wonderful thing to see.


                                                 Not all boats are under motor or sail


                                        Bowsprit figurines were features of many of the tall ships


 There are beautiful wooden boats everywhere, in the water, on the hardstand and smaller ones in exhibition buildings.


   The crowds are undoubtedly less than was the case on the peak days of the show, but there are still plenty of people around.


 

The exhibition halls were still open, but many of the exhibitors were already packing up by around 3 pm. One exhibitor I was looking for, was a Tasmanian who is making a modified right angle drill for using on sail winches (I am looking for an improvement on my Metabo drill which is a bit of a wrist sprainer). I eventually found his stand. It is a masterpiece of engineering, but what a beast (look at the size of it!!!) and it weighs around 7kg. No-one was interested in trying sell us one, but at least I can cross that one off the list.


Many of the usual suspects had stands, including all of the paint and antifoul companies, propeller manufacturers, insurers etc. There were heaps of shipwrights plying their particular skills on various aspects of wooden boat building with quite a few demonstrations in separate tent areas.

One of the outdoor displays that really took my fancy was a bunch of old guys with a series of very old engines that they had restored, two if which were running.



Adding to the already swollen crowds, were 2 cruise ships in town, a Holland America ship and also Ponant.


                                                   Holland America Zuiderdam

By the end of the day the ships started leaving for home.


                                    The New Endeavour Leaving for home

Tonight we booked dinner at one of Hobart's new trending restaurants, Peppina, at the new Tasman Hotel. It was recommended to us by some golfing friends and it turned out to be excellent.




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